Last week at the New York Times Center, Hispanic women gathered to celebrate what it means to be a “Nueva Latina” and #LivingFabulosa. The evening was hosted by P&G’s Orgullosa, and was full of wine, pampering, laughter and inspiration. The evening was a panel with some of the media and Hollywood’s best Latina leaders: Nina Terrero from Entertainment Weekly, Lilliana Vazquez from the Today Show, Angie Martinez (who of course needs no introduction!) Golden Globe winning actress Gina Rodriguez and OITNB superstars Selenis Leyva and Diane Guerrero.
The evening was a forum co-hosted by Gina, Nina, Angie and Lilliana. They talked about what it means to be a “Nueva Latina,” about embracing culture and about living that duality of being both American and Latina that so many of us felt growing up. I know I felt it. I still have a research paper I wrote on it when I was in college. Growing up, your parents raise you one way, and then you are in a society that has different expectations and that’s when there’s a clash. Luckily, for Hispanic women today, there’s no need to choose. We can be Latina and American. We can be proud of both and that’s what it means to be #livingfabulosa!! And you KNOW we Hispanas are FABULOSAS!
There are certain themes that always come up when we’re talking about what it means to be Latina and those themes certainly came up with these lovely ladies! The importance of family, culture, food, music. The importance of helping our community rise up, of Latinas helping Latinas and of being authentic and true to yourself.
What is a Nueva Latina? A hardworking, ambitious woman who is proud of both sides of her culture, American AND Hispanic.
JANET JONES, The Creator of The Vixen Workout
One of the guests was Janet Jones, founder of The Vixen Workout. Now, if you’ve never heard of this workout, you HAVE to check it out. Janet’s story was super inspirational because she said that she tried to become what others wanted her to be, and in doing so, lost herself. Janet was a dancer and choreographer and one day she realized that all her friends were working in Corporate America, while she was still trying to “make it.” So she did what many people would do… she did what she felt was expected of her, she stopped the dancing and went on to corporate America which (surprise surprise) she HATED. Janet says she found herself in the darkest moment of her life. “It was in complete darkness that I found myself again.” She said that she has made it her mission never to let a woman feel invisible. Janet created the Vixen Workout to help moms let loose and be themselves. It was when Janet decided to do something she loved (dancing) that she became happy and then everything fell into place; this only happened when she took the money out of the equation and decided to do something she truly loved. She believes in order to be happy, women need to change from the inside first.
Selenis Leyva
Selenis, a beautiful Afro-Latina, says she often was told she wasn’t “Latina” enough. Selenis has come a long way since the days they said to her “You’re not Latina enough.” She will soon have a role in HBO’s Veep — not as a maid, or janitor, or prisoner, but as Governor! She is incredibly proud of her heritage and said “Whoever said I wasn’t Latina enough can suck it.” Selenis is a mom, and she said her daughter (who by the way in fluent in spanish!) said to her “I’m so proud of you” when she won an award. That moment is what makes everything worth it.
#LivingFabulosa Words of Wisdom
There were so many moments of truth and inspiration during the #LivingFabulosa event. I will leave you with some words of wisdom spoken by our beautiful hosts for the evening.
“The only person who can define who you are is you.” Angie Martinez
“Positivity breeds positivity.” Gina Rodriguez
“Don’t compare your journey to anyone else’s. With anything in life, you have to give it a lifetime.” – Gina Rodriguez
“Be so good, they can’t ignore you.”
“Don’t let yourself be guided by negativity… if you do, you will be misguided and you will no longer be you.” -Diane Guerrero
“Getting to tell your story and having people connect to you is the most amazing part of this.” – Diane Guerrero
“If you believe, you receive.” – Nina Terrero
“I want my kids to know they’re not limited.” – Gina Rodriguez
“We’re all human, we all want the same things.” -Gina Rodriguez
Let’s chat! What makes your ORGULLOSA about being Latina and how are you #livingfabulosa? Share your thoughts below, or tweet me!
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Photo credit: Thank you to P&G Orgullosa for the beautiful photos of the event!
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